Lost Souls
by P. J. Brown
Summary: When Oliver Queen's gaze met the stern look of a familiar blue eyed blonde, he recalled the night where it all happened. The night where he had to make an impossible choice… *This fic is set during the second season of "Arrow" a few weeks after the episode "Heir to the demon". Some Olicity down the road.*
1. Impossible Choice

**A/N: **Hey everyone, this is my first official attempt to write a story set in the "Arrow" verse. First, I want to say that I was inspired by Rennie75's awesome "Arrow" fics to write this story. She's an amazing writer, and her stories leaves you wanting for more.

As for this fic, the story will be about Oliver and his team having a hard time protecting Starling City from criminals and evil-doers, when they realize they can't always protect their loved ones…

I also have a good idea where I want to go with this story, but I'm open to suggestion and advice.

This fic is set during the second season timeline of "Arrow". And the story starts a couple weeks after "Heir To The Demon"... So beware, because they might be a lot of spoilers for those who aren't up to date.

*Thoughts will be in italic in _this_ chapter*

**Disclaimer:** I do not claim Arrow or the characters. They belong to CW.

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Lost Souls

As Oliver Queen looked at the mourners standing around a grave in the distance, it dawned on him that his crusade as "The Arrow" and past mistakes would always endanger the people close to him. Since he came back from the island, a year and a half ago, he never thought, in a million years, he had to make another impossible choice. A choice, that did cost him another part of his, already, broken soul. When his gaze met the stern look of a familiar blue eyed blonde, he was reminded of the night where it all happened. The night where he had let a close friend die…

**(Flashback)**

A vicious right hook caught The Arrow on the side of his head. The force of the blow made him fly back against the wall of an abandoned warehouse. He stumbled back as he tried to regain his footing. It baffled Oliver that the man who struck him had the same fighting style and a similar uniform to that friend he had to kill on the island. Even the strength behind his blows was similar - It felt somewhat superhuman. He wondered if his opponent got injected with the Mirakuru… The green hooded hero raised his Oneida Kestrel compound bow in retaliation and shot an arrow at his opponent.

The aggressor, who wore a black suit of body armor and a black and orange metal helmet caught the incoming projectile and snapped it in half with ease, as he strode in the hero's direction.

Oliver's eyes widened at the man's skill. It reminded him, even more, of his late friend, and growled in his Arrow voice, "Who. Are. You?"

The armored individual abruptly stopped five feet away from Oliver and stared at him with his single eye. Then, he took off his metal helmet revealing himself as a ghost from the past.

The hooded vigilante gasped in shock as he looked at the supposedly "dead" man, who taught him everything he knew about combat, and uttered, "Y-you!?."

"Yes, me - In the flesh." He replied in a deep voice.

"It can't be… I saw you die…with my own eyes – You died!"

"I did "die", old friend… But, along the way, I became death itself. And I intend to destroy your life, before I release you from this world! Your loved ones shall suffer as a result of your past transgressions!"

The Arrow gritted his teeth as he gave a swift side kick in the direction of the dark haired man's armored abdomen and growled, "You don't have to do THIS - I've told you countless times, how sorry I was for-"

"SHUT UP!" he snapped as he blocked Oliver's attack, before adding, "Don't you dare mention _her_, Oliver - You don't have that right!" The man, who wore an eye patch on his right eye then grabbed the CEO of Queen Consolidated by the neck and lifted him up, effortlessly, and hissed, "Make a choice, kid!"

Oliver tried to fight his way out of being choked as his feet dangled in the air but found himself unable to. He shot a look at his aggressor and managed to gasp out, "L- leave them out of it, Slade… They have nothing to do with this – It's between you and me!"

Slade Wilson, now, had a baleful look directed at him as he made a fist with his free hand and remarked, "Actually, they do have something to do with this, Oliver. I saw the way you've been looking at them. And the way they've been looking at you. But, the big question burning on everyone's lip is: who do you love, more? You can't take everything or everyone for granted. YOU let Shado die - YOU lied to me about the circumstances of her death - YOU drove an arrow through my eye!" He drew a Katana from the sheath on his back and directed it at two familiar women, who had duct tape over their mouth, handcuffed to a chair and added, "Now, It's time for you to pay for your sins, old friend. You have 30 seconds… CHOOSE!"

The Arrow looked at the two women who looked on in horror. He had to try to save them, by any means necessary_, _even if it meant his death at the hands of Slade. He would never forgive himself if something would happen to them. His attention was now focused on his old "friend" as he stated, "I- I wonder what Shado would think of you, now… I understand you loved her, Slade - But, is this HOW you want to honor her memory?" Oliver pursed his lip as he maintained eye contact with him.

Slade narrowed his left eye and started to tighten his grip around Oliver's neck, "Y-YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT-"

"EEEEeeeeEEEEEEeeeeeEEEEEEeeeeEEEEEeeeeEEEEEeeeeEEEEeeeeEE~" An ultrasonic sound was heard, shattering windows in the warehouse and overwhelming Oliver and Slade's hearing.

The soldier, who had the Mirakuru in his system, succumbed to the high frequency sound and threw The Arrow 20 feet away from him to cover his ears.

When Oliver landed onto the floor, he put his hands over his ears and managed to get up. He then saw a familiar sonic device beside Slade and growled, "It was about time YOU show up…"

A female figure wearing a black leather corset with long sleeves, black leather pants and black domino mask with long light blonde hair appeared beside Oliver, and dryly replied, "And, you're welcome."

Slade crushed the sonic device with his foot, and then looked at the new guest as he stifled a laugh, "How convenient – a reunion of three old friends from a hellish island... Sara Lance_._.. An unexpected survivor who just turned up a few months ago…and also happens to spend her nights fighting crime in black leather with the man of the hour, Oliver Queen…"

Sara just glared at him and as she prepped her expandable baton, turned to Oliver and said, "I'll take care of him – Go save them, Ollie."

Slade cackled for a bit and took out a sidearm, "I'm afraid not, my friends. This little reunion must come to an end." He then cocked and raised the gun at the two captive women and added, "You have ten seconds to make a decision, Oliver_._ Sara, you better not attempt anything foolish – Or else, I'll kill them both."

The Canary froze on the spot as she looked at the brunette woman handcuffed to a chair with duct tape over her mouth and stammered, "L- Laurel…"

And The Arrow was also motionless as he gazed at the blonde woman beside the brunette who was in the same position_. I- I can't let Felicity...or Laurel... I have to find a way to save them - Fast! No one is dying on my watch!_ It was almost like Déja Vu as the green hooded hero recalled that horrible night on the island where Shado, his lover at the time, was killed on a whim by Dr. Ivo because he chose to save Sara…

He was also reminded that having been stuck in the island for five long years had made him do things that he never thought he could do: Like taking a life, sacrificing Shado's life for Sara's, driving an arrow to Slade's eye, and a lot more… As a result, he had been slowly losing his humanity. However, that all changed when he met John Diggle, his "bodyguard" and Felicity Smoak, his "secretary". These two saved him from his loneliness and darkness. They gave him a better outlook about life. They made him realize the errors of his ways as "The Hood". Since then, he reformed himself as "The Arrow", and stopped killing evil-doers or criminals. He only killed when it was deemed necessary. Although, Oliver knew he would only kill to protect his loved ones, though… The last person he had to kill was The Count Vertigo. He had to do it to save Felicity's life. And he couldn't imagine a life without his partner and friend, Felicity Smoak. As he thought about her, he suddenly felt at ease. The nerdish blonde, who had a sexy librarian look, had the knack to, always, find a silver lining in everything _- _she was resourceful, smart, loyal, funny, and very attractive. Felicity had become his light. A light he didn't deserve because he could never be with someone he cared about-

"Let them go, Slade! You don't have to do this… You used to be a good man – I'm sure you still are…" Sara spoke as she put her hands up in surrender. "Kill me instead… I was supposed to die that night. Not Shado. It's all because of me – I deserve to die."

The dark haired man with the Mirakuru in his body smirked at Sara, "Don't worry, dear. I've been longing to kill you myself… I shall grant your wish as soon as I'm done with this selfish and ungrateful bastard!" He then gave a stern look to the man in question and added, "Time's up, kid," as he pointed his handgun to Felicity.

Oliver rushed without any second thoughts in her direction and screamed, "SLADE - NOOOOOOOOOOO-"

Slade's left eye widened for a brief moment, "It looks like your choice is made, Oliver… I _honestly_ didn't expect that-"

A loud crack was heard in the air as the echo of an ear-splitting "BANG" carried on for a few seconds.

Oliver dropped down on his knees, "N- no, no, no… NOOOO" as he saw a body going limp - He let her die… As soon as his eyes met Sara's, she glared at him with watery eyes.

He had been responsible for the death of her sister, Laurel Lance.

**(End of flashback)**

He maintained eye contact with the blue eyed blonde as he closed the distance between them at the cemetery, "I'm so sorry, Sara... I- I wanted-"

"You shouldn't be here, Ollie... I know you mean well and all but I can't shake the fact Laurel is dead because of us... Seeing you here makes it even harder for me to acknowledge what happened that night."

Oliver then put his hand on her shoulder and nodded his head slowly as he gave a faint smile.

Sara nodded her head in return as her eyes began to water.

He then withdrew his hand, turned away from her and started to walk out of the cemetery towards the people that mattered the most to him. As he approached John Diggle and Felicity Smoak, he gave them a quick nod.

Felicity ran to Oliver to hug him and said, "How is she? Did she get angry at you? Is she angry at me? Is she angry?"

"Felicity!"

She let go of him with a bemused look on her face, "What!? Did I say something wrong or-"

"No. You just asked me too many questions at once," He smiled warmly at her, before adding, "She's doing better, for now I guess – And no. She's not angry at you."

"Are you sure? Because the look she gave me that night, when your old _buddy_, Slade-"

"Yes, Felicity – I'm, VERY, sure."

Diggle smirked at the blonde and stepped in to shake Oliver's hand, "Oliver. Felicity and I are for your loss. And we both know how hard it was for you to do what you did… We hope you will never have to go through something like that again – You can thank me later, Felicity. "

The blonde threw her hands up with an eye roll, "John!"

"What!? We are at a funeral... and you forgot to give him your sympathies, so I did it for you," He replied with a grin.

Oliver stifled a laugh as he clapped his hands together, "Ok, team; we need to find Slade Wilson... That bastard gotta pay for killing Laurel!"

Felicity sighed, and answered, "I've been trying to track him down ever since – Errrr – Um, you know - but we got nothing. He's like a freaking ghost-"

"We're still working on it as we speak, Oliver" Diggle continued.

The CEO of Queen Consolidated nodded his head and forced a smile, "Good… I need to attend a meeting at the office. I'll go on my own. You guys should take some time off and lay low. I might meet you tomorrow night at the lair, if I find some info about Slade on my end..." After saying those words, Oliver then gave a brief man hug to Diggle. And as his "bodyguard" walked away from them, he turned to Felicity and put his hands on her shoulders with a gentle smile and said, "Take it easy."

Felicity gazed at Oliver and mumbled, "You too."

As he released his hold on her to walk in the direction of his car to attend his meeting at the Queen Consolidated Headquarters, he heard her say:

"Oliver!"

He turned around to face her, "Yes, Felicity..."

She walked slowly towards him and said, "I just wanted to say, thank you...again – For saving me that night…"

"Yeah – Don't sweat it."

"And, again… I'm really sorry for Laurel."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her as he stepped in close, "We already talk about this, Felicity – It's. Not. Your. Fault."

"B- but, I got myself in trouble, again, and… you were forced to make a choice. If it wasn't for me, she would still be alive-"

Oliver then sighed loudly as he maintained eye contact with the geeky – yet cute – blonde when she continued to speak.

"And, I'm sorry I'm the one who had to put you in this horrible situation, again-"

"Felicity," he took her hands and held them, "Slade was going to kill you…when he pointed his gun at you - There was no choice to make."

She gazed into his eyes with a sad smile as she slowly nodded her head.

Oliver then let go of Felicity's hands with a concerned look and stepped away without saying another word. On his way to his car, he pondered about what he had to do to save Felicity's life and the end result of that impossible decision. Laurel's death was another heavy burden he, now, had to carry with him… And left him with some questions as well. Was he fit to be the hero Starling City needs? And did he have feelings for a certain blonde who knew her way around computers? He didn't have the answers, but he would find them eventually. For now, he only had one thing in mind…

Slade Wilson.

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**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "Lost Souls".

Thank you for reading and let me know what you think.


	2. Game Time

**A/N:** I just wanted to start by saying I'm glad you, my readers, are enjoying this story so far. So thanks for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing this Arrow fic!

This chapter turned out to be a bit dialogue heavy…but it moves the story forward!

**Disclaimer:** I do not claim Arrow or the characters. They belong to CW.

* * *

It had been weeks since Laurel Lance's death…

Oliver Queen walked into the night club, Verdant, in the evening. There was no one inside. Not even bartenders, waitresses, or busboys. It was completely quiet. He truly enjoyed this kind of atmosphere, when he needed some time alone. He took a liquor bottle from the bar and poured himself a drink as he picked up the TV remote and flicked it on.

"Our top news tonight," the anchor woman was conveniently saying in clipped, professional tones, "is that Moira Queen, matriarch of the Queen family, has been elected Mayor of Starling City. It is reported that she has won by a landslide, gaining 80 percent of the votes against her rival mayoral candidate, Sebastian Blood. Despite the fact, Moira Queen was trialled in court for conspiring the destruction of the Glades under Malcolm Merlyn; the newly Mayor-elect managed to secure an unexpected big win against Starling City's favorite, Sebastian Blood. However, now that Oliver Queen, her son, recently took a leave of absence from his CEO position at Queen Consolidated for personal reasons and left leadership in the hands of Isabel Rochev, his Co-CEO and the Vice-President of Acquisitions for Stellmoor International. The question on everyone's lips is: what will happen to the Queen family now?"

Oliver sat onto the bar stool with the drink in his hand, staring at the blonde woman he no longer trusted or respected. Moira Queen, his mother, the one indirectly responsible for: the Queen's Gambit's demise, his father's death, his five years of hell in an island, and pretty much everything that was wrong with his life. Regardless of all the horrible things she had done, he stood by her and turned a blind eye during her trial and over the fact she had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn. However, sometime, after she was acquitted, he learned from Felicity Smoak that his sister, Thea Queen, was the biological daughter of Malcolm Merlyn. Since then he truly felt betrayed and didn't know what else his mother was capable of. Therefore, he lost hope and affection towards her and decided to end their relationship.

Oliver narrowed his eyes as he drowned out the news reporter's words and focused instead on his mother's deceitful smile taking up the entire TV screen. It was one he wasn't going to forgive anytime soon.

"Madam Mayor!" He vaguely heard one the reporters shouting. "Madam Mayor, what will you do now that your son, Oliver Queen, took a leave of absence from his CEO position at Queen Consolidated? Will you let Isabel Rochev, who also works for a rival company, take over your late husband's company? There's also a rumor Oliver Queen no longer lives at the Queen mansion; is that true? Do you really believe the reason behind your son's actions of late is because of the death of his long-time ex-girlfriend, Laurel Lance?"

Oliver felt his heart thump painfully in his chest at the mention of the woman he failed to save; he assumed his history with Laurel was long since forgotten in Starling City. Unfortunately for him, it seemed not.

"My son is the bravest and strongest man I know," His mother answered to the camera. "He needed a well deserve break – We all know he went through hell and back. He's not a quitter. He's a survivor. And, I can assure you he'll be back at Queen Consolidated!" - Oliver snarled at his mother's words – "I'm also positive my son will come back to the mansion. After all, home is where the heart is-"

After that the anchor woman reappeared and moved onto the next story which was something about a man dress as a bat... Oliver zoned out, once more, and thought about what his mom said to the reporter. As far as he was concerned, home was no longer where his heart was. He was done with his mother's deceitful ways, her lies, and he was done with her.

As he stood up to get himself another drink he suddenly heard somebody come in. He turned around, and a faint smile appeared on his face. It was Felicity. He hadn't seen her in weeks. In fact, he hadn't seen the blonde IT girl since Laurel's funeral because he had instructed her, and Diggle to lay low and only contact him when they would have information about Slade Wilson. He also lay low by taking a personal leave of absence from his CEO position at QC and took a break from his "Arrow" crusade to prevent Slade from tracking him or his team. "What's the lead you found?"

Felicity smiled, walking in his direction, "I didn't manage to find Slade's location…yet. But, John and I found some new development that may be related to your old _buddy_ – By the way, did you watch the news? It looks like your mom managed to pull off the impossible – Again! I mean; nobody saw it coming like when she was acquitted for her trial…" and stared at him before saying, "O- Oliver, you okay? Because, you look like you haven't slept in weeks-"

"I'm fine, Felicity!" He cut her off with a growl.

"Oliver, I know you wanted to lay low to hide us from Slade, but this has to stop…you've been avoiding me for weeks – Well, john too! It's not the same without you at the office! And Isabel is such a – Ugh! 'Still can't believe you slept with her in Russia! And the lair feels empty without you… And I miss seeing you on the salmon ladder – I mean, I miss seeing you work out at the lair… You know with John, Roy and Sara-"

Oliver stifled a laugh, staring at Felicity. She was dressed in a blue v-neck shirt with long sleeves and tight-fitting denim jeans, talking and shaking her head as she looked at him. Her long blonde hair was pinned up, exposing her neck in an attractive way. He had a hard time not looking away. He then interrupted her, "Felicity!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You want more information on that lead we've managed to find… Let's go downstairs." She then walked in the direction of the underground lair, which was accessed behind the bar.

Oliver nodded as he walked beside her and said, "Where's Diggle?"

She turned her head to make eye contact with him after inputting a code on the panel beside the door that led to the lair, "He's on his way-" and she then had a disgusted look on her face, "Oliver - Eww, your breath smells like Whiskey! You know drinking won't make things better… My mom started drinking a lot when my dad left… It only makes-"

"I only had one glass, Felicity!" He cut her off.

"And you were drinking alone, which is never a good sign…" She replied, walking down the stairs of the lair.

Oliver raised a brow as he followed her, "I'm not an alcoholic, Felicity. I was just having some down time."

She turned around and bit her lip, "I know it's going to suck to bring that up… But, didn't you see how bad things went for Laurel with her drinking and drug problems?"

Oliver glared at her, "Don't" and paused before adding, "don't bring her into this, Felicity."

"Sorry – I didn't mean to. It's just I don't want you to lose your way … You have to be better than this…you need to be better than this - You're a hero now, you know?" She replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"She's right, Oliver. Drowning your problems with alcohol ain't the solution," John Diggle stated, trailing behind them with some Big Belly Burger take out in his hands.

Oliver snorted and said, "Guys…let's face the facts… How can I be a hero, if I couldn't protect this city from Malcolm Merlyn's earthquake device and failed to save Tommy and Laurel!? I mean, what kind of hero am I?"

"A hero that endures," Felicity answered as she sat down on her desk chair near her computers. "I was there, Oliver. I saw how conflicted you were. And again, I'm so sorry for getting you and Sara into that horrible situation… If only I had not fell for Slade's trap…" The blonde IT girl said with a hint of guilt and sadness in her voice and continued, "By the way… I haven't heard from Sara or seen her since the funeral – I think she skipped town or something…"

"We also tried to get into contact with her, but she's unreachable… I hope nothing bad comes from it. We kinda have our hands full at the moment…" Diggle added as he took a bite from his burger.

It made Oliver raised a brow to learn that Sara Lance's whereabouts was currently unknown. The last time her saw her was at Laurel's funeral. And it didn't go that well… The look Sara gave him at the cemetery made him realize she was definitely angry at him and might have blamed him for the death of her sister... He hoped she didn't get herself in trouble… It was another important thing he would have to look into, later. "What's the lead on Slade?" Oliver asked, trying to change the subject. He then moved behind Felicity and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Um, as I told you earlier… There's some new development – Well, it's technically an old problem that just resurfaced out of nowhere. But, it might help us locate Slade!"

Oliver just nodded at Felicity waiting for her to reveal the information.

She then continued, "There have been reports of people who have gone missing – When they were found. They were dead. The reports said that the cause of death was from an overdose – sounds familiar?"

Oliver now had a stern look on his face, "Mirakuru!"

"Most people that went missing were from the glades... Maybe we should start looking there!" She continued with a smile.

Oliver nodded and paced around the lair, "Diggle! you'll be my back up..."

Diggle gave him a quick nod as he finished eating his burger.

Oliver then pointed his finger at the blonde girl, "And YOU stay here to oversee the mission – Is that Clear, Felicity?"

Felicity shot him a look, turned her chair towards her computer and replied, "Yup… Crystal clear, Mr. Queen."

Oliver sighed, staring at his cute blonde partner. He had a hard time saying the right things to the people he cared about. He would always end up saying something that would hurt them or alienate them. The more he did it. The more he realized he might be doomed to end up alone in his darkness… And it made him angry to act this way with her, but he didn't want to lose focus on his main objective, Slade Wilson. His old friend turned enemy had to be put down as soon as possible, before he hurt somebody else close to him. Oliver recalled the most recent threat the dark haired man, who wore an eye patch, had made to him that night.

_"I won't stop, kid… I won't stop until you feel true despair! And when that day come… I'll finally release you from this world!"_ Slade had growled.

Oliver no longer wanted to put the people he cared about at risk or in danger. And he didn't want to make any other sacrifices… He would do everything in his power to keep them safe, even if he had to die trying. "Felicity!"

"What!?" She hissed, turning her chair to face him.

Oliver stepped in close and gently put his hand on her face, "Hey…you're important to me… And I don't want to risk losing you, again…"

A sad look crossed Felicity's face as she glanced at him with a faint smile, "O- Oliver…"

He returned her smile as he let go of her face. "Diggle, Let's go," He called out, starting to gather some equipment for the mission.

"Oliver!? You're back!?" A voice abruptly said.

Oliver glanced over his shoulder and saw Roy Harper, his protégé who recently became a member of the team and who also happened to date his sister, "Yeah... Aren't you supposed to be with Thea and my mother at the mayor's office?" He dryly answered back.

As the young man, wearing his usual red hoodie, descended the stairs of the lair, he put his hands in his jeans' pocket, "I was… But, they went back to the mansion to celebrate Mrs. Queen's victory. So I came here to check on the team…"

Oliver turned to face him and nodded, "Diggle, and I are going on a mission." He then pointed to Felicity, "Keep her company."

Roy glanced at Felicity and nodded, "Sure. No problem."

"Great! Now, I get to be babysat...again" The blonde woman's eyes rolled before sighing, "men…" as she turned to her monitors, shaking her head and typing furiously on her keyboard.

Oliver bit his lip, glancing at her and went back to gathering some equipment. And then he stared intently at his Arrow costume which was showcased in a tall glass cabinet. Last time he wore it; he had to make an impossible choice. But, now, he had to rectify the wrongs of his actions. He had to make it right. Not just for his sake, but for his friends, teammates and family too…

He had to avenge Laurel's death and kill Slade, once and for all.

He then rummaged through his equipment and found one of his trick arrows that was made specially for enhanced individuals like Slade and smiled.

It was game time.

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**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this update!

I thought I had this story all figured out, but the recent episodes, "Time Of Death" and "The Promise" were such a game changer that I had to make some slight modifications... But, I would like to ask you, the readers, an opinion about something... I'm tempted to do a crossover with some DC characters outside of Arrow's world in later chapters (there's a little hint during the part where Oliver watches the news :-D).So crossover or not? Let me know, guys!

Anyway, thank you for reading! And here's a little preview for the next chapter...

* * *

###

The man walked in his direction with a kind of saunter as if he hadn't a care in the world, "I don't know. We kinda had a fall out not to long ago… We couldn't agree on certain things-" He then threw a fist at the Arrow.

The green hooded hero quickly sidestepped the punch and drove his knee right into the man's gut. He watched as the man recoiled a few steps before continuing his assault. He rushed forward and drove his fist into the man's face and swept his legs out from under him. The man fell to the ground, and Oliver was quickly on him. He pinned the man to the ground with one arm and then with his free hand, punched him repeatedly. "WHERE'S SLADE WILSON?" He growled in his Arrow voice.

###

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**A/N:** Let me know what you think of this update or story in general!


	3. Nothing Is What It Seems

**A/N:** Hey, guys! Thanks again for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing this Arrow fic! It means a lot to me!

This update hasn't been proofread, or beta'd – So I'm sorry if there are some mistakes or typos (Let me know if there's any so I can correct them).

Without further ado here's chapter three of "Lost Soul"

**Disclaimer:** I do not claim Arrow or the characters. They belong to CW.

* * *

"We're worried about you, Oliver… You know that, right?"

Oliver was on a rooftop in the Glades as he heard John Diggle's statement. His partner and friend, who stood behind him, had been there since the beginning of his vigilante crusade, always giving wise advices, always looking out for him and always supporting him. He was the most loyal partner and friend he, now, had (well, him and Felicity). He turned to face him with an impassive look in his face, and walked past him, "Maintain this position and keep an eye out."

"Don't keep us in the dark, Oliver… We want to take out Slade as much as you do, but we got to do it as a team… No more secrets or going into hiding when shit hits the fan!"

Oliver stopped without turning around, listening to his teammate.

"I know you mean well… But, eventually, you're going to get us killed if you keep that up."

The green hooded hero tightened his fist while maintaining his back turned to his friend, "Are you done?" There was a sudden pregnant pause and Oliver started to walk away.

"Find a moment to talk to Felicity, after the mission. She doesn't show it, but it's been hard for her in the past weeks… She feels guilty for what happened to Laurel. And she thinks it's her fault that Sara left and that you decided to stray away from the team," Diggle stated.

Oliver sighed as he raised his bow, aiming at the ground, "Fine. I'll talk to her." and shot a zip-line arrow. He then turned on his comms, attached the rope on the edge of the rooftop, and jumped down and slid on the rope with the help of his bow. "I'm in position," the Arrow said over the comms as he landed on the ground.

"It was about time! I thought you forgot how to use an earpiece communicator, for a moment – I mean, with you being away for a few weeks and all-"

"Felicity!" Oliver growled her name in an attempt to make her concentrate on the mission.

"I know, I know… Let me verify something…" The blonde woman replied over the comms. "Ok! This is the place, Oliver – Keep an eye out for anything weird."

"Will do," The Arrow said, walking in a dark alley. He thought about his last conversation with Diggle as he walked. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that keeping to himself would sooner or later further endanger the team… He would have to come clean as soon as possible for the sake of his team. Because, Diggle, once, told him secrets carried a lot of weight in a person's life and the only way to move forward is to let go of that weight. However, the only thing he had in mind for now was to take out Slade

Oliver then saw a door leading to an abandoned warehouse. "I'm going in," he said over the comms as he opened the door.

"Ok. I'm getting a visual – And it's an one floor building with a basement. Be careful, Oliver," Felicity replied in a concern tone.

As soon as he got inside, he heard people talking. It sounded like a group of three people. He walked quietly in the direction of the voices with his bow raised while looking everywhere around him.

"PLEASE, DON'T!." A voice screamed in horror.

Oliver's eyes went wide as he realized he heard that voice somewhere before. He turned the next corner and saw a young woman with short black hair handcuffed to a chair and two men holding her down. He looked long and hard at the girl and recognized her as Sara and Roy's friend.

"Don't worry, my dear. If you manage to survive, you will become one of my loyal soldiers. We'll take back this city from the weak and make it our own," A man wearing a familiar mask said in a distorted voice with a syringe in hand as he made his presence known.

Oliver was completely baffled, when he saw the skull masked man. The man was supposed to be dead. He saw Laurel shot him dead a few months ago…and yet there he was in front of him… It was difficult for him to acknowledge the recent turn of event, but he tried to concentrate as he nocked an arrow and growled in his Arrow voice, "Get away from her!"

The masked man turned around and said, "The Arrow! How nice of you to drop by…" He then started to step away as his two goons let go of the young woman and moved toward Oliver.

The Arrow quickly shot two arrows at the two men, incapacitated them and aimed the bow at the masked man with a baleful look, "I'm looking for Slade Wilson. Where. Is. He?"

The man wearing a mask cackled for a brief moment, "Oh... You want to interrogate me… But, what about the girl?"

"Not my priority at the moment," Oliver spat, treading lightly towards his foe.

The masked man pulled out a gun, aiming it at the girl and hissed, "What about now?"

The Arrow scoffed as he shot another arrow in the direction of the gun, disarming the man.

The skull masked man held his hand in pain and ran away from the scene.

"Arrow! Please untie me!" The woman pleaded.

Oliver wanted to run after the masked man right away, but he had to untie the woman first. He approached her and cut the ropes and growled, "Go somewhere safe!" He then ran after the man and said over the comms, "Felicity! The man with a skull mask is still alive!" He opened the exit door, and was now outside pursuing the man, who was supposed to be dead, in a dark alley.

"What!? No way. It's impossible – I mean, you saw Laurel shoot him at least, six times… Right!? He's supposed to be dead! Does _anyone_ ever stay dead these days!?." The blonde IT girl replied in disbelief.

The green hooded hero growled as he replied, "Keep your head on the game, Felicity – I got a feeling Laurel might have been right about Sebastian Blood… Try to find a connection between him and Slade!"

"Ok - I'm on it, Oliver!" She answered back.

Oliver fired an arrow targeted at the man's leg. The incoming projectile missed the man wearing a skull mask by an inch. The Arrow rushed at the masked wearing man with his bow raised and commanded, "STOP! Or I'll shoot, again. And this time – I. Won't. Miss."

The man stopped dead in his track and turned around to face him and spoke in a disguised voice, "You and I, we're both the same! We're both trying to save this city from-"

"No. You want to control Starling City by building an army with the Mirakuru," Oliver interrupted him and added, "Where's your partner, Slade Wilson?"

The masked man cackled and replied, "Oh…you mean, the man who killed that crazy DA alcoholic woman whom you failed to save?"

Oliver flared up at the mention of his recent failure, and charged his arrow, "I said, WHERE IS HE?"

The skull mask wearing man kept cackling as he walked towards Oliver with a kind of saunter as if he hadn't a care in the world, "I don't know – We kinda had a fall out not to long ago. We couldn't agree on certain things…" He then threw a fist at the aspiring hero.

Oliver quickly sidestepped the punch and drove his knee right into the man's gut. He watched as the masked man recoiled a few steps before continuing his assault. He rushed forward and drove his fist into the skull mask and swept his legs out from under him. The man fell to the ground, and Oliver was quickly on him. He pinned the man to the ground with one arm and then with his free hand, punched him repeatedly. "WHERE'S SLADE!?" He growled in his Arrow voice.

"Oliver! You got company at twelve o'clock!" Diggle warned over the comms.

The arrow glanced up from his opponent and scanned the alley. There were four people with guns heading towards him. He got up and hid behind a garbage container, "Can you me provide back up?"

"Negative, I don't have a clear shot! I'm going to position myself elsewhere!" Diggle answered back.

Oliver peeked from his cover and saw his target escaping as shots were fired in his direction. He went back into cover and growled on the comms, "Felicity! Did you find something?"

"I think I did! It looks like there's a connection between them and – wait for it- Sebastian Blood is truly the skull mask man! It looks like Laurel was right… He was the one responsible for all those Mirakuru injections that killed a dozen people! And he was a puppet with Slade behind the curtain as the master puppeteer and supplier of the Mirakuru sample!" Felicity explained over the comms.

Oliver gritted his teeth as he realized he had been completely fooled by Slade and Blood and that Lauren was right about the conspiracy surrounding the ex-mayoral candidate. "Digg, do you have a clear shot now?" He growled over the comms.

There was no answer.

Oliver got worried after a long silence and tried again, "Digg!?"

"I'm sorry to say your friend won't be able to assist you, kid," A familiar baritone voice replied behind him.

Oliver froze at the sound of the voice. He tried to turn around, but it was already too late. He felt a sudden sharp pain on the back of his head and fell on his knees, went numb and eventually lost consciousness on the cold ground in the dark alley...

* * *

###

Oliver felt weak…as if he had been drugged…

When he tried to open his eyes, all he could see was darkness… It looked like he was in a dark room with no lights or no windows. He also noticed both his hands were raised and tied to something. As he tried to shake his hands, he realized he was handcuffed to a pipe. The sound of metallic chains could be heard around his feet as he tried to move them… Even his feet were chained to something. As he tried to gather his thoughts to find a way out of his predicament, he felt a searing, throbbing, pain in the back of his head… "S- Slade…" He said out loud as he recalled hearing the man's voice before being hit on the back of the head and blacking out.

A door abruptly opened revealing the man known as Slade Wilson sporting an expensive looking black suit and holding an envelope in his hand. He opened the light and closed the door behind him as he stepped inside the room. "Ahhh… Sleeping beauty is awake. It was about time. I was getting worried…" He trailed off with a mocking glare.

Oliver gave him a stern look, "Diggle… Felicity… My team… What did you-"

"Relax. I incapacitated Mr. John Diggle on the rooftop, but he will live to fight another day. As for Ms. Felicity Smoak…I couldn't track her location, unfortunately," Slade interrupted him nonchalantly.

The green hooded hero couldn't believe his friend turned foe managed to one up him once again and put him in another very bad situation. Slade baited him with the reappearance of the Mirakuru… It might have been a trap. Although, He was glad that Felicity, Diggle, and Roy were unharmed. He wouldn't be able to go through another lost. "It's me that you want… Leave the people around me out of it!" He growled, frowning at Slade.

"No worries… I'm just here to talk," Slade replied as a grin formed on his face. He then moved closer to Oliver and added, "Actually, I want to inform you of something…"

Oliver raised an eyebrow, tightening his fist as he thought about Laurel, "Inform me that you're a murderer… I certainly got the memo!" He then shook his shackled hands and taunted Slade by saying, "Let me out so I can take out that other eye of yours and finish you off for good!"

Slade cackled for a brief moment and narrow his sole eye at him, "You know, kid… Sooner or later you'll realize nothing is what it seems…" As he got closer to Oliver he gave him a stern look, "I wish I could end your life with my bare hands at this very moment, but you haven't suffered enough. Ms. Laurel Lance was just the beginning, kid…" He then tilted his head slightly to the right, "I have a question for you… How well do you know Ms. Felicity Smoak?"

The green hooded hero was bemused at his enemy's sudden question. Felicity was his partner, his friend… She was the one who could hack her way through everything and find all the leads or information he needed for his missions as the Arrow. She also had that uncanny ability to make him feel better about himself. And she managed to change him for the better by filling his dark soul with warm light. In fact, Felicity Smoak became the only good thing in his life. A good thing he had to protect at all cost. And that's all that mattered for him. "I'm not in the mood for games, Slade… " He hissed in response.

The man with an eye patch stifled a laughed and said, "Oliver… You still don't see the bigger picture, heh!?" He paused before continuing, "When I took control of the Amazo ship and became captain – You know, before you drove an arrow through my eye and left me for dead-"

Oliver snarled at his nemesis' comments as he listened to him.

"I learned the truth about Shado's death from our dear _friend_ Dr. Anthony Ivo… You betrayed Shado…and ME," He snapped, pacing around the room.

Oliver remembered Dr. Anthony Ivo. He was the man who forced Oliver to make an impossible choice and let Shado die. "…" He was unable to comment as the guilt from the past was creeping back up.

Slade just glared at him, "That man changed our destinies… I know I was somewhat inspired by this detestable fool of a man to impose you a similar choice, but I was just trying to prove a point…" Slade continued cryptically as he gave a puzzled look at Oliver. And then he added, "By the way, what happened to Ivo, kid!?"

Oliver shuddered at the memory as he recalled what he had to do four years ago… Living in the island forced him to do unthinkable things. And it definitely changed him for the worse. He glared at Slade and scoffed, "You should worry about what's going to happen to you, when I'll be out of these handcuffs!"

Slade stared at him with a sickening grin and threw a fist on the side of his face – Oliver's handcuffs stopped his stumble as his vision blurred for a moment - "What was that!? I didn't hear you well!?" Slade asked with a serious tone.

As Oliver regained his vision and senses from the Mirakuru enhanced blow, he answered with a sigh, "I can do this all day." Right after the comment, Oliver got punched in the guts and let out a scream of anguish. The green hooded hero was tough but not that tough. His body was hardened from all the training he did in the past six years, but he couldn't take a beating from someone who had the Miracle serum in their system. Another blow from Slade could potentially harm him in a dangerous way. He bit his lip for a moment as he regained his breathing and gasped out, "I killed him… I killed Ivo…"

A satisfying smirk crossed Slade's face as he opened the envelope he held and took out a couple documents from it. "I discovered some interesting things in the past few weeks… And I think it's a good time for me to share them with you, Oliver," He stated as he showed one document in particular.

Oliver narrowed his eyes and read the document. It was a birth certificate document… As he read the name on it, he froze. It couldn't be. He couldn't believe what he was reading. It had to be a fake. He then shot a look at Slade, "You…"

"It's the truth, kid…" The man who wore an eye patch answered calmly while showing him the other documents. "As you can see… Nothing is what it seems."

Oliver gritted his teeth as he realized what was now in stake. He could potentially lose her forever… But, he couldn't let that happen, because he needed her in his life. She was his only source of light in his darkness... He would be lost without her by his side. And this horrible truth could ruin everything…

Felicity could never know that Oliver was the one responsible for the death of her father, Anthony Ivo.

* * *

**A/N:** I hoped you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think! I need some feedback on this :-)


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